Year End Goals

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Not much going on besides end of year stuff. There’s not really much to ramble about. I’ve been trying to think of ways to get this blog more active. I don’t read fast enough to do a review every week. If you have ideas, feel free to share them. But for now, I think I’ll just ramble about my plans for the next couple of weeks. It’s nothing exciting. Just trying to get motivated for next year. So, here’s what my December looks like in no particular order.

1. Benefits stuff. I just had my yearly meeting to assure the state I’m still cripple and need the benefits I receive. The nurse is supposed to come out on Friday so they can do even more paperwork assuring the state that I am indeed still cripple. After which, I’ll keep pestering my case worker until my plan is approved so we don’t end up in the same clusterfuck that was 2024. But that’s a rant I don’t want to get started on. Deep breath. Big smile. Scream into the void. That’s it. Everything is fine. Moving on.

2. Reading. I have one more book to finish for reviewing this year. I’m a little more than halfway through it. I’m also reading one “for fun” book. I would like to finish it before the end of the year, but I’m not going to rush it. It’s supposed to be fun. And I’ve already passed my book goal for 2024, so yay me. I’ve read 37 so far, which means I’ll at least end the year at 38. For me, that’s great.

3. Open the files. Starting in January, I want to get back to writing a novel. Before then, I need to read over what I’ve already written (only one chapter) and study my notes. Yes, this one has notes! There are character names/descriptions and a broad strokes plot outline with key points planned out. I just need to refresh my memory and decide if I want to tweak anything before I let the characters destroy my lovely little mystery with their own ideas.

That’s it, really. There’s also a vet appointment for Sophia (yearly check up) and we need to schedule one for January for Bonnie, but that’s it. (Mardi doesn’t go until April for anyone wondering about her.) What do you need to do before January? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts or questions or whatever here or on my social media pages!

A Look Inside Settler’s Table

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are okay. Thanksgiving was nice. We had all the yummy food and a lot of people came over. It was a good day. But a few days before turkey day, Dad and I tried a place called Settler’s Table. It’s on Collins in Sunnyvale. Anyway, I don’t really have anything else to ramble about, so I figured I’d do a food review. We got delivery, so I can’t comment on accessibility or service for this one, but the food is really the important part for any restaurant. Any pictures are borrowed from Google because I wasn’t actually planning on reviewing this place.

First, a reminder of my rating system:

MMMMM = Everything is magnificent!
MMMM = Great, but something is off.
MMM = Pretty good, but a couple of things could be better.
MM = The bad’s starting to outweigh the good.
M = Definitely more cons than pros.
… = I couldn’t find anything nice to say.

Appetizer: Horny Toads. They’re deep fried pimento cheese balls with a jalapeño glaze. The melty cheese and crispy crust were actually really good, but the glaze was cloyingly sweet. I only made it through one and half before I gave up. First bite was good, but it just got worse with every bite after that.

Entrees: I got Dad the Naked Burger (a burger on a salad instead of a bun). I ordered medium rare hoping it would at least still be juicy even if they overcooked it a bit. Calling it a hockey puck is being generous. The salad was nothing special either. I got the rig-a-tuna. It was supposed to be herbed rigatoni with tuna and other things I really like. The flavor was pretty good, but the dish was super dry. I was kind of expecting pesto or at least some kind of oil dressing to combine all the dry ingredients together into a cohesive dish. Nope. It was all dry. Even the stuff that usually has some moisture (canned tuna, sundried tomatoes, etc.) felt like it had been drained and blotted dry. It was all just very sad.

Dessert: I got a slice of peanut butter pie. I was looking forward to it because I haven’t found a good peanut butter pie since Denny’s got rid of theirs. I still haven’t found one. It was kind of gritty and had pockets of sweetness vs. pockets of saltiness, like the filling hadn’t been mixed well. It was disappointing.

Price: about the same as everywhere else. If the food had been good, it would’ve been a decent price really, but as is, it wasn’t worth it.

My rating:
M

Note: I actually really wanted to like this place. It’s close by and has outdoor seating and would’ve been a nice place to go for a late lunch once in a while. I’m not just being a dick. The food just wasn’t good.

Thoughts on A TRINKET FOR THE TAKING

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? If you celebrate, are you ready for Turkey Day? Dad’s making a whole spread this year. As I’m writing this, it currently smells really good in our house. Be jealous. But anyway, it’s the last Wednesday of November, so it’s book review time! This month, I went with something more on the fantasy side. It’s a mystery, but with a pretty detailed magical system and some extra world building even though it’s mostly just a real world setting. A Trinket for the Taking by Victoria Laurie was released on Tuesday the 26th by Kensington Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it!

A Trinket for the Taking follows Dovey Van Dalen as she sets out to celebrate her 200th birthday in style. Unfortunately, work gets in the way when a super powerful and deadly trinket (magical device) goes missing. She’s tasked with finding it before the unbound (non-magical) world gets suspicious. It doesn’t help that the thief seems to be targeting a prominent unbound family. And to complicate matters further, she keeps running into a ridiculously attractive FBI agent and she can’t seem to escape him. Nor does she really want to, which is a whole problem within itself. Can Dovey figure out the case and retrieve the trinket before it’s too late?

The plot was pretty good. Entertaining. Standard combination of mystery and fantasy. Magical item must be found before death and destruction ensue. Oops, too late. Magical person teams up with plucky non-magical sidekick. Weirdness happens. Last minute saving of the day. Happily ever after… until the next book. But the pacing was off. The first two thirds of the book was loaded down with world building and character histories and it dragged. A lot. Especially when the same info was repeated two or three times. And because of all this excess information, the last third of the book felt super rushed since it didn’t have any. Don’t get me wrong. A lot of the information was necessary. It just could have been incorporated more strategically. But the three scenes when her hedgehog helps her pick an outfit are completely unnecessary. The first one was cute and by all means keep one scene for fun. But three? During which nothing important is conveyed? No. Either utilize the other two scenes to pass on relevant and new information or cut them. Otherwise, it makes the story drag. Aside from that, there were also a couple of deus ex machina things that made me roll my eyes. One of them made it apparent that a particular character was thrown in as an afterthought just for that moment instead of utilizing any of the existing characters. And the hedgehog in the pocket thing was random and not really necessary when the reader was already told that she had what it gave her. If it had been a surprise, it would’ve been cool, but she literally brought the thing with her in case she needed it. No hedgehog needed.

As for the characters, there were a lot and so many of them did nothing. For instance, there’s a perv at the elevator within the first couple of pages. He literally does nothing but ogle Dovey, then let her take the elevator by herself. And he never shows back up. It was weird. A lot of the characters could have been combined into a one or two. Mostly they do one thing then disappear. It’s annoying. But I mostly liked the main characters. Dovey is interesting. I don’t understand why she randomly falls in love at first sight. It’s creepy. But otherwise I like her. Gib is fun. Ursula could’ve been utilized more. And Elric is just a gross old dude. But overall, I enjoyed most of the characters.

The writing itself was fun. Despite the pacing issues and iffy characters, I read the book pretty quickly and didn’t dread picking it up after a break.

Ultimately, A Trinket for the Taking was entertaining while I was reading it, but not particularly memorable. I will pick up the next book if I see it, but I probably won’t go looking for it.

starstarstarstar outlinestar outline

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. A solid three. If you’re into magical mysteries, it’s worth checking out.

Can’t Do It Yet

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’m not good. I’ve tried my damnedest to think of something fun or happy to ramble about, but I can’t do it. It’s been a week and I’m still just a ball of fear and rage. If you don’t understand why a cripple who is dependent on Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security in order to simply survive is terrified and angry, then you don’t understand the repercussions of the far right agenda and I’m not in a place to calmly explain it to you right now. So! I’m going to go play mindless games while I can, read while books are still a thing we have access to, and maybe even listen to loud music until they ban that too. Am I exaggerating? Maybe. Anyway, I’ll try to be in a better place next week. For now, a pretty picture by Yuumei.

A Look Inside Pho Garden

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Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I haven’t seen any news about the end of the US yet, but it’s only 6:30pm on Tuesday as I’m writing this. Fingers crossed things go well. And by well, I mean anything but orange. Anyway, we spent most of the day in Rockwall so I could see the ENT. While we were out that way, we decided to stop for pho! It’s been a long time since we had it and it was our first time at this place. It’s called Pho Garden and is in the plaza at Rockwall (a strip mall) near the 24-Hour Fitness. You can find the address on their website above. I didn’t think about pictures, so everything here is borrowed from Google.

First, a reminder of my rating system:

MMMMM = Everything is magnificent!
MMMM = Great, but something is off.
MMM = Pretty good, but a couple of things could be better.
MM = The bad’s starting to outweigh the good.
M = Definitely more cons than pros.
… = I couldn’t find anything nice to say.

Accessibility: The nearest handicap parking space has one of those tiny loading zones that even able-bodied people have to squeeze through, so we had to block traffic a bit while I unloaded. It happens. Whatever. But going into the restaurant was the worst part. It’s one of those annoying double door things where you have to go in, turn, and go in another door. It’s a tiny space. In all honesty, I wouldn’t have even tried the place if I knew it had that kind of entrance. You literally need two people just to help you get inside. Once you make it inside, it’s great. Plenty of room to maneuver between tables. The tables are on the high side of normal, so I had no problem getting underneath. Nothing to block my footrests or bang my knees on. Perfect.

Service: It was great. Everyone talked to me like I was a normal human being. That’s pretty much all it takes to get on our good side. They kept everything full for the most part and made sure we had everything we needed and were super nice in general.

Appetizer: We got the spring rolls with shrimp. They were pretty good. The peanut sauce had a chocolaty flavor that was weird but not unpleasant.

Pho: Dad got the pho garden which had steak, brisket, meatballs, and tripe. He really enjoyed it. Loaded it up with chili oil. Yum. And I got the seafood pho which was shrimp, fish balls, and krab (imitation crab). It was really good too.

Price: It’s in line with everything else nowadays. About $45 pre-tip for two people, so not that bad.

My rating:
MMMM

Thoughts on THE DEBUTANTES

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are normal. Nothing really to complain about that anyone would care about. Anyway, it’s the last Wednesday of October, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I went with a more traditional YA thriller mystery type thing. The Debutantes by Olivia Worley was released on the 29th (Tuesday) from St. Martin’s Press. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do it!

The Debutantes follows Vivian, Piper, April and Lily as they each struggle to come to terms with their places in life, the mistakes they’ve made, and the traditions they’ve inherited from the elite of New Orleans. The Les Masques Ball is the event of the year where teenage girls are paraded in front of their parents and the rest of the city’s elite. The Queen and her Maids. This year is no exception, despite the fact that last year’s queen died. When a protest takes place at the event, tensions run high. But when Lily, this year’s queen, goes missing, the adults are oddly unconcerned. A text from Lily to Vivian, Piper, and April urges the trio to discover the truth behind her disappearance. And what does it have to do with the death of the previous queen?

The plot ends up being super convoluted. There’s the secret society type club that everyone knows about. Then, there’s a secret society within the not-so-secret society that’s just for the white dudes. It’s basically a bunch of dudes in power that do weird stuff in front of barely legal girls and who also help each other cover shit up when one of them does something illegal. Yeah. It’s not a great club. Anyway, the plot consists of kidnapping, murder, attempted murder, harassment, blackmail, etc. It’s not bad, it’s just too much. And the ending is one of those unsatisfying ones where some people get off without any repercussions because they’re rich and no one will talk about their involvement. I know that’s how it would happen in real life, but I don’t read books to see what would happen in real life. I want the spoiled little rich girls who claim they hate their lives to actually rat out the people in power. They only do a half-assed job of it though, so only two people get their comeuppances. Boo.

The characters were all pretty unrelatable. The parts of their personalities that should be relatable feel forced and unnatural. The stuff that feels natural is the rich girl privilege. Which is fine. Lean into it. Don’t force the other stuff. Lily obviously doesn’t hate her position of power, so stop telling me she does. She’s manipulative and gross. Let her be herself. Vivian’s weird lust for Wyatt doesn’t even exist except to forward an unnecessary plotline. Either weave it throughout the book or leave it out. Piper just feels like a caricature. April is probably the best character and honestly, this should have been her story. Get rid of Lily and just make it about April figuring out what happened to Margot. But I’m sure younger people who are still learning about people will like most of these characters.

The writing isn’t bad, but it’s not great either. The book starts out too slow then rushes through the ending. I enjoyed the descriptions. That’s about it.

Ultimately, The Debutantes wasn’t my cup of tea. A lot of my issues with the book are just me problems. I won’t go looking for other books by Worley, but if I stumble across one that sounds interesting, I’d probably pick it up.

starstarstarstar outlinestar outline

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Two and a half, really. If you like convoluted YA thrillers, check it out. Otherwise, it’s just kind of meh.

Sweet Treats

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are okay. Usual. Went with Dad to a follow up doctor appointment yesterday (today as I’m writing this), so this will be a short post. I know I’ve done posts on favorite chocolates and all that, but I can’t find anything about hard candies. Granted, I didn’t look very hard. So, since Halloween is next week, I thought I’d do a top 3 list.

Here we go!

1. Werther’s Original. I don’t care if it’s an old people candy. I’ve loved them since I was a kid. I will love them until I die. But I don’t get them often because Dad loves them too and I won’t tempt him like that. But yes, random grandma on the street. I will gladly take one. I’ll even take one of those mysterious strawberry candies that just randomly spawn in your purse once you hit a certain age.

2. Jolly Ranchers. I like fruity hard candy. I’m not a fan of chewy candies like StarBurst or whatever, but stick a Jolly Rancher in my cheek and I’m happy. I like grape. Watermelon is good too. I haven’t found a flavor I actively dislike, actually. But I don’t eat them much because I’m satisfied for months after just one, so there’s no point in buying a bag.

3. Dum Dums. I completely forget these exist until I see them somewhere. Usually the doctor’s office. I’ll steal one and be good for the year, so I never even think about buying them.

What are your favorite non-chocolate candies? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts, questions, or comments here or on my social media pages!

Sophia VS. the Water Hose

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I can’t think of anything to blog about, so I decided to show you Sophia and her favorite game. Just look at the cuteness. She literally begs for this whenever Dad’s near a hose. And the water has to be on the jet setting or else it’s not worth her time. Meanwhile, if Bonnie and Mardi are outside when this is going on, they run for cover. They’re not cool like Sophia. Anyway, there’s your dose of random cuteness for the week. Maybe I’ll have something to ramble about next week.

Fall in Texas

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are okay. Still stressing over stupid stuff. I have no book review today, so I’ve been trying to think of something fall or Halloween related to ramble about, but we’re boring people. We don’t decorate the house. At best we put up a winter wreath in December. Nothing for autumn or Halloween. I don’t watch scary movies. I’ve already done scary story recommendations. I’ve done favorite candy and gross candy. I thought about doing fall outfits, but it’s Texas. It’s still 90 degrees outside. My fall outfits are the same as they’ve been for the last 6 months… shorts and t-shirts. I could pretend to be one of those girls who coordinates outfits with every season, but I’m not. So, I guess I’ll just ramble about fall in Texas.

How can you tell it’s fall in Texas? People get excited over “cold fronts” that take us from 95 degrees down to 91. Or 89 if we’re really lucky. If it hits 85 degrees, people start pulling out the jeans and hoodies. People walk down the street holding their steaming pumpkin spice lattes, despite the fact that the asphalt is hotter than that coffee. Fall in Texas is weird.

It’s also State Fair season. I haven’t been in about 10 years. It’s crowded and overpriced, but it’s one of those things Texans get super excited about. Like, what non-fried food item are they going to batter and shove in oil this year? Last time I went, it was butter. Not great. But the deep fried Nutter Butter was divine. So, when people start talking about Big Tex, you know it’s fall.

Football. The Cowboys, sure. But when people start talking about high school football like it’s life or death, that’s when you know fall has truly begun in Texas. The rivalries. Pitting children against each other for adult amusement. There’s nothing better. Even college football pales in comparison. It gets creepy and it gets super intense. And don’t you dare ever remind people it’s just a game or you’ll get run out of the state (and probably most states that abut us). Seriously. It’s weird down here.

Oh, and don’t be fooled by the 3 days of nice weather at the end of September or beginning of October. That’s just Mother Nature screwing with us. We won’t get real fall until around Halloween, but that’s only for a week at best, then it’s winter. So, happy fall from Texas!